It feels hard to continue on to “normal” life. Trying to go about my daily happenings and to-do’s feels like going into a burning house to make pancakes.
I feel quite overwhelmed with the news and with social media.
There’s constant debate in my head, and I don’t know where to land and how to feel and especially what to think.
No matter how hard I try to direct my feelings more positively and productively, to try and think hopefully, there’s always a rebuttal to undermine hopeful sentiments.
And so what do I do now?
When I feel like no matter what I do it won’t be enough?How do I sit with myself when my mere existence in a place of privilege is an injustice?
If I’m not doing everything, I’ll be deemed complacent. I don’t even know what “everything” is though.
It’s like the “if you’re not growing you’re dying” sentiment.
But that’s not sustainable. That’s just scrambling for traction on an ever-crumbling cliff.
There’s a lot of calling out on social media (I don’t know why we even bother to call it social media, because it’s really just Instagram).
Calling out of complacency, injustice...all extremely valid.
But I think this leaves some people, some populations targeted, attacked, and more prone to sit in non-action or even resistance.
I think it’s wise to think about ideal outcomes, which from what I gather, would mean something along the lines of having the country unanimously on the side of claiming responsibility for systemic injustice, providing reparations and adequate education that speaks to the truth of our history as a nation, and individuals speaking out, taking action for wrongdoings within our reach. Obviously idealistic on many fronts, but if that’s the direction we’re trying to go towards it takes calling people into action.
Blame and shame only ever alienated people.
And I don’t mean that we stop keeping people accountable to their actions, we just do it in a way that invites them to step up to the plate rather than be ejected from the field.
Creating empowered allies instead of bitter enemies.
It's kind of like the whole if you give the man a fish he’ll be satiated for a day, teach him to fish and he’ll never be hungry again except actually not really lol...what I’m trying to say is that we all have a ripple effect, whether we intend to or not. And that effect is heightened (for better or for worse) by how we interact with others. Empower others to be accountable for themselves and pass that message to raise those surrounding them, and that collective wake will be broader than anything the one person could ever do.
Basically, we can have action that lasts one day, or action that manifests for generations.
But, like it says at the bottom of this page, “Take it what you will, but take it with a grain of salt”.